Firsts
by Emilamoo
Summary: There's a first time for everything. A collection of Mark and Maureen's firsts varying in lengths, genres, and ratings, but no M. PreRENT. Starts from when they meet in kindergarten up until the year the end of the play/movie takes place.
1. Kindergarten, First Sight

**This is my first RENT fic, so be nice. Oh, and it kind of screws with the timeline, too. Everyone except for Joanne meet in either elementary school or high school in this. And there will be some April and Muffy- er, Allison- in here too. Plus, April dies when they're still in high school.**

**Couples featured: Mark/Maureen (main pairing), Roger/Mimi, Benny/Mimi (not a shipper of the two, FYI), Roger/April (for a few chapters), Benny/Allison (not quite sure when I'm going to fit this couple in, but I will), Collins/Angel, Maureen/Joanne (very last chapter/s though), Mark/OC, and Maureen/OC.**

**PreRENT. Please enjoy, and don't forget to review at the end! Should be about 20 chapters long.**

**I'm picturing the movie cast of RENT in my head as I write this, by the way.**

**Disclaimer: My name's not Jonathan Larson. Hmm, must mean I don't own RENT or any of the characters/actors.**

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Firsts Chapter One: First Sight

Mark Cohen can remember the first time he had ever laid eyes on Maureen Johnson. It was back on the very first day of school, the first day of kindergarten. He was holding hands with his mother while waiting in line to check in when he heard a shrill scream.

"_No_, mommy, _no! _I don't _wanna _go to school!"

"Maureen, please, quiet down and cooperate," Nancy Johnson pleaded.

Mark watched as a little girl with chocolate brown hair in short pigtails that stuck out far from her head got practically dragged by a stressed out parent to the line. The girl was dressed in a zebra-patterned short sleeved shirt and a short, black, frilly skirt with gray leggings. She easily stood out from the other girls who were dressed in pink, light blue, light green, and lavender colored dresses and skirts. She wrenched out of her mother's grasp and put her hands on her nonexistent hips.

"School is for weenies!"

Mrs. Johnson stared at her daughter with shock. "Maureen, young lady, we do not use such language! Where'd you hear that word, anyways?"

"What word? Weenies?"

She cringed. "Yes, that word."

"Oh, I saw it on Spongebob."

"Well, school isn't for weenies, so let's go."

"No!"

"Maureen, we're going _now. _You have until the count of three. One." The six year old simply stared. "Two." She sighed and rolled her eyes, as if she were bored. "Three." She shrugged this time and blinked, like she was challenging the adult. "Don't make me take away your CD player!"

This caught Maureen's attention. She looked at her mother with horror.

"No, mommy! Mommy, no, please!" she cried, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Then get in line."

She pouted before obliging. "Fine."

Mark looked away as they got in line behind him and his mother. He fixed his glasses and looked up at Mrs. Cohen. She looked slightly annoyed until she noticed him looking at her. Then she smiled, although he could tell it was forced.

"Go _away, _Roger," he heard Maureen say.

He looked back to find a boy with floppy, golden hair standing close to Maureen.

"I missed you, Mo," he told her, giving her a hug.

"Ew!" she squealed, pushing him away. "Cooties!" He pulled at one of her pigtails. "Stop it, Roger!" He persisted. "Quit _pulling _at my _hair!" _When he still didn't le up, she grabbed her mother's arm. "Mommy, Roger won't stop bugging me! He pulled my pigtail!"

"No I didn't!" he shouted. "Momma, she's lying!"

Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Johnson shared a familiar look of knowing before turning to their children.

"Cut it out, you two."

"He started it!" Maureen cried, pointing to Roger.

"No, _she _started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!"

Roger peered past her and leered at Mark, who shrunk back behind his own mother's leg as she moved up to the front of the line to start signing papers.

"What are _you _looking at?"

"N-nothing," Mark stammered nervously. He snuck a glance a glance at Maureen, who wasn't paying any attention to either one of them. "Who's that?"

Roger crept up close, tugged on his arm to direct them from the others, and spoke quietly so that no one would hear them.

"That's Maureen. We're gonna get married someday."

"Oh."

"What's your name?"

"Mark. What's yours?"

"Roger. Do you wanna be friends?"

"Sure."

"Do you wanna be friends with Maureen, too?"

Mark glanced at the little girl, who was now sprawled out on the floor drawing a picture of a cow on a small piece of notepad paper.

"Um, no thanks. That's okay."

Little did he know that that girl would become one of his best friends and so much more in the near future.

**To be continued. Next chapter title: First Song.**

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I thought it'd be cute if little Roger had a crush on little Maureen for a couple of years to start out with. :)

**Review please, I'd really appreciate it! This category I'm writing it under isn't very popular, so any reviews that I receive would really make me happy.**


	2. First Grade, First Song

**Firsts Chapter Two: First Song**

Mark Cohen can remember the first time he heard Maureen Johnson sing. They were in first grade, and the teacher wanted each student to recite his or her favorite nursery rhyme. They could sing it, simply read it, or act out a short skit about it.

"All right. Do we have anyone who would like to go first?"

Immediately, Maureen's small hand shot up into the air like a bullet and waved back and forth frantically.

"Ooh, me! Me me me me me, teacher! I do!"

"Okay, Maureen. Go ahead." She stood up on her desk. "Oh, no, sweetie. We're going to stay on the ground today."

Maureen looked disappointed, but she got off and stood on the ground. She waved to her fellow classmates, cleared her throat, and began.

"Heeeeeyyyyyyy," she sang powerfully for her age, her voice starting out high and then getting lower. "Diddle… diddle. The caaaaaat and the… fiddle. The cow jumped over the mooooon. The dog laughed to seeeee such sport, and dish ran away with the… spoooon oh yeah!"

Mark clapped politely as the rest of the kids cheered. Maureen bowed grandly before flouncing back to her desk. The applause and shouts continued on. The teacher stood up.

"Okay, class. Settle down, settle down. Thank you for that wonderful performance, Maureen."

She beamed. "You're welcome."

"Now, who's next?"

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It was during recess when Mark met up with Roger on the swings.

"So whaddya think of Maureen's performance?" Roger asked, pushing off with his feet and swinging up into the air.

Mark looked at her, who was playing with her two best friends Nancy and Shelby. He barely moved forward and back in his swing.

"I liked it, I guess. It was really good," he admitted.

"Tell her. Maureen loves getting told she's good at things. She says it makes her happy."

"How long have you two been friends?"

Roger held up three fingers. "Four? No. Five? No, wait..." He counted his fingers. "Three! Three years. I asked her to marry me a few days ago."

"When?"

"I dunno. I don't remember exactly."

"What'd she say?"

"She hugged me but said no."

"Sorry."

"That's okay. Why don't you wanna be friends with her though?"

"I don't know. She's kind of…" His voice trailed off as he searched for the right word. "…Loud."

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After school ended, Mark searched for Maureen. He found her by her cubby gathering her things.

_I really liked your song._

The words died the moment he opened his mouth to speak. To his great surprise, he found himself nervous. She was intimidating to him. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. She was oblivious to his presence, looking hurriedly for something.

_Come on, Mark, _he mentally berated himself. _It's just a girl. Just talk to her, you wimp._

"Yay! I found it!" she said excitedly, stuffing something into her backpack.

"I-" Mark started to say.

Just then Shelby squished in front of him, nudging him out of the way and blocking him from view.

"Come on, Maureen! Let's go. We're gonna be late to dance class. Nancy's waiting for us in my mom's car."

She grabbed Maureen's hand and pulled her away, leaving Mark alone and staring after her.

"I really liked you song," he whispered, but he knew she didn't hear him.

**To be continued. Next chapter title: First Words.**

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**Thanks for those who reviewed! It's really, really appreciated.**

**Anyone catch that Idina (Maureen) reference? Idina played Shelby in Glee and Nancy in Enchanted, hence the name of her two best friends.**

**In case you haven't noticed, these aren't going to be very long chapters, exactly. Some might be, but a lot of them will probably be drabble-y.**

**Please review! The more reviews I get, the faster I update.**


	3. Second Grade, First Words

**Hey, so I am so sorry for not updating in over two months. Yeah, I know, the last line in the previous chapter said "the more reviews I get, the faster I update." Hmm. That didn't work too well. I lost the flash drive that contained every chapter but three or four of them typed on it, so I'm going to have to retype it all. Yuck.**

**I saw Idina in concert on November 19****th****, and she is amazing! :D If you ever get the chance to see her, do it. There's nothing compared to seeing her live. Guess who got her autograph after? MOI! Boo yah. So worth standing in freezing weather.**

**And I saw Wicked on December 2****nd****, too, in Chicago for my birthday. It is fantastic. Okay, on with the fic.****Firsts Chapter Three: First Words**

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Mark Cohen can remember the first time Maureen Johnson ever spoke to him. It was in second grade. Mark had come in early to practice his spelling with his teacher. He sat down with her at the circular table, fidgeting slightly.

"Good morning, Mark," she chirped. "How are you?"

"Good."

"That's wonderful to hear. Now, did you remember your spelling flash cards?"

Mark flushed a little with embarrassment and shook his head.

"No? You forgot?"

"They're in my backpack."

"Well, why don't you run along and get them from your locker. When you come back, I'll be here waiting."

He nodded and walked out the door. Suddenly someone ran into him, and his glasses got knocked off. "Oops!" he heard someone say.

He felt on the ground for his glasses, fumbling a little, before someone slipped them into his fingers. He slipped them on and looked up to find Maureen looking slightly concerned, her hand covering her mouth, standing next to Teresa, one of her friends from the drama club. Neither of them were in his class that year. They were headed to the auditorium to rehearse the extracurricular school play. Maureen had landed the lead role even though she was only eight. There were many third, fourth, and fifth graders who already hated her.

"I'm sowwy!" Maureen apologized, removing her hand and grinning sheepishly to reveal a missing tooth, the cause of her abnormal speech.

"Let's go. He's fine," Teresa told her. She took off giggling down the hall, Maureen trailing behind her.

"'S okay," he mumbled.

He got his flash cards and returned to the room.

**Next chapter title: First Q and A**

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**Like I said, short, but necessary. Kinda. Shoot, the AN was longer than the chapter… I was worried about that. To make up for it, I'll update either tomorrow or when I can. By Monday for sure.**

**Happy New Year's Eve, by the way! I'd break into the play version of RENT's "Happy New Year," but that'd probably offend you more than make you happy...**


	4. Third Grade, First Q and A

**See? I told you I'd update soon. This one's a bit longer. You is welcome. ;) For the record though, some of these aren't going to be very long at all, including the next chapter.**

**xxXxx**

Mark Cohen can remember the first time Maureen Johnson asked him a question. It was the first time Mark ever spoke to her, back in the third grade. They were in the same class that year. It was free time during gym. Maureen with her new friends- it seemed she had new friends each year- Mimi and Benny were looking for someone to help spin their long jump rope. Mark was alone in the back of the gym shooting hoops.

A touch on the shoulder made him startle. He threw the ball. It bounced back against the backboard, rebounded, and hit him in the face. He clutched his nose.

"Ouch!"

"Oh, jeez, sorry! I didn't mean to freak you out. I just have a question."

Mark straightened up and fixed his now crooked glasses. "Okay."

"Will you twirl for us?"

"Will I what?" He found it very odd that she was asking him to spin in a circle.

"Twirl for us. The jump rope." She gestured towards Benny and Mimi, who were looking at both of them. "We need another twirler."

His ears burned bright red. "Oh. Yeah. Um, sure."

She walked off, and he followed her. "Oh, and I'm Maureen, by the way," she called over her shoulder.

"I'm Mark."

She suddenly stopped, turning around and peering at him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

He nodded slightly, a little offended. "Yeah. I was in your kindergarten and first classes."

"Oh."

"And you ran into me last year."

She nodded. "Ah. I remember now." She grinned, and he felt his heart beat up the tiniest bit. His palms began to sweat. Gah, why was he so nervous around her? "Sorry about that."

"That's okay."

They met up with Benny and Mimi. Maureen quickly introduced Mark, and Benny held out one end of the jump rope. Mark took it, and they spread back before starting to twirl. Mimi jumped inside. "Sing Ice Cream!" she shouted.

"No way! That song is for girls!" Benny protested.

"No it isn't!"

"Aw, _puh-leaze _Benny?" Maureen pouted, sticking out her bottom lip as far as it'd go.

"Why don't _you_ do it? You're just standing there like a garden gnome."

"You don't even know what that means, you dummy! And because: I'm saving my voice for someone else's turn. Why don't you just do it already?"

Benny sighed, rolling his eyes. "Fine. Ice cream, soda, cherry on top. Who's your boyfriend? I forgot. Is it A? B? C? D? E? F? G?" On and on, he continued. "N? O? P? Q? R?"

The rope got caught on Mimi's foot at that letter, causing it to stop.

"Let me think… a boy we know who starts with the letter 'R'…" Maureen tapped a glitter-painted fingernail on her chin. She suddenly squealed, her eyes lighting up. "Roger!"

Everyone laughed, even Mark. Mimi shook her head. "Noooo!"

"Come on, everyone knows you like him," Maureen informed her.

Benny nodded in agreement.

"Whatever. It's Benny's turn!"

"I'll sing," Maureen volunteered.

Benny didn't know how to jump into an already spinning rope, so he started out already in the middle. Mark and Mimi began to twirl.

"Ice cream, soda, cherry on top. Who's your girlfriend? I forgot. Is it A? B? C? D? E? F? G? H? I? J? K? L? M?"

Benny stumbled, and the rope stopped.

"Maureen!" Mimi shouted. "Ooh, Benny and Maureen, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage!"

Mark felt suddenly uncomfortable.

"Ew! Yuck!" Benny groaned. "Maureen has cooties!"

"I do _not!" _she shrieked. "And that is _so _last year."

"Drama queen," he teased."

"I am not a drama queen!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Are to!"

"Am not!"

Mimi stepped in between them. "Guys, quit fighting. All of us except for Mark are friends." At Mark's hurt look, she quickly added, "No offense. Let's just play nice together. Maur, it's your turn."

Benny and Mark began twirling. She jumped in, and Mimi began chanting. "Ice cream, soda, cherry on top. Who's your boyfriend? I forgot. Is it A? B? C?"

Mark was facing Maureen. He watched her focus intently on jumping, the tip of her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth with concentration. She looked up and caught him staring. He blushed bright red, and she grinned at him, waving a little. His hands grew sweaty and slippery again. Benny tugged on the rope a little too hard.

Mark lost his grip and watched in horror as his handle flew back and hit Maureen right in the face. "Ow!" she screamed, stopping and clutching her face.

"Are you okay?" Benny cried, dropping the rope completely and rushing to her.

Mimi hurried to tell the teacher. Maureen was now on her knees. She nodded to Benny, her face buried in her hands. "Yeah, b-but it h-hurts!"

Mark ran to her. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to!" He knew she was crying when she saw her shoulders shaking up and down. He hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder, scared to death that he was going to get in trouble. "I'm sorry!"

"I-I know y-you are," she sobbed. She removed her hands. There was an angry, red lash mark across her face. Fat tears were rolling down her cheeks, and she wiped at them angrily. "Don't _look _at me!"

Mark looked away. Mimi came back. "Teacher says I can take you to the nurse's office," she told her, who in return wiped her nose on the sleeve of her shirt, nodded, got up, and walked off with her.

"I-I really didn't mean to," Mark stammered to Benny, who just shrugged.

"She's just being Maureen," he explained, which seemed to be an explanation all in itself.

And, in a way, it was.

**xxXxx**

**You guys all know that "Maureen" and "Benny" are married in real life? Yeah, I figured. Just thought I'd point it out. I'll try to review soon, but final exams are coming up in a couple of weeks so I'm not sure how much time I'll have. In the mean time, review?**

**Next chapter title: First Friends (P.S. These titles don't make very much sense grammar wise, or... normal-wise, actually, in case you haven't noticed)**


	5. Fourth Grade, First Friends

**Ok, this is basically just a filler chapter, although it's important in order to show when exactly Mark and Maureen became friends.**

**I'm sorry for not updating in so long, but I've been really busy lately. My life is hectic. However, I _did _FINALLY see RENT on stage! It was a local performance, but it was still epic.**

**xxXxx**

Mark Cohen can remember the first time he and Maureen Johnson became friends. Back in elementary school, they were given a snack every day in the morning. On that particular day in fourth grade, the snack was peanut butter, crackers, and apple slices.

Maureen sat in the desk to the left of Mark's, Roger in the desk to the right. Mark had grown fond of her. He liked listening to her speak with enthusiasm and passion, and he had learned to enjoy her quirky, bright, fun, outgoing personality. They spoke to each other much more than they used to, but they still didn't talk enough to be close friends. Mark knew that he wouldn't mind if they were close friends, though. He could use a few more.

"I'm starving!" Maureen raved, carelessly slopping peanut butter on her food.

Mark glanced down at his own food. His peanut butter was spared evenly and neatly around his food. He had spent meticulous time making sure nothing smudged, and the peanut butter to remain inside the lines. His food was practically the exact opposite of hers.

"I'm going to get a paper towel," she announced, standing up with her food.

"Okay," Roger said nonchalantly, automatically, not bothering to look up from his own food.

Just then Kristin, a bubbly, popular girl with golden locks, bumped into Maureen, sending her snack to the ground.

"No!" Maureen howled. "Look what you did, Kristin! You stupid head."

"Oops, sorry about that," Kristin apologized, not looking- or sounding- sorry or sincere at all. "Oh well."

Mark and Roger helped Maureen throw her stuff into to the trash. When they returned to their seats, Mark silently took all of his food and put it on her desk. She turned to look at him, curls bouncing. "What? For me? But this is your food."

"I'm not that hungry," he explained.

She smiled at him softly. "Thank you, Mark."

"Sure."

"Here." She split the contents in two equal parts and gave him one half.

Mark smiled back at her. "Thanks."

"You know what, Mark?"

He turned to look at her. "What?"

She looked at him and grinned. "I think we're gonna be great friends."

He smiled back yet again and nodded. "I do, too."

She held up her juice box in a toast. "Friends?"

He looked at her for a second before bumping his box against hers.

"Friends."

**xxXxx**

**Wow. I think I mentioned food way too much in this chapter… ahaha. Sorry about that. And yes, Kristin **_**is **_**based on Kristin Chenoweth when she played the snobby Glinda- sorry, **_**Ga**_**linda- in the Broadway **_**Wicked**_** along with Idina. I didn't mean to call Kristin "popular," like Galinda's song "Popular" in **_**Wicked**_**; it just happened.**

**Ok, done talking. Care to review? (hint, hint)**


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